Dogs 10,000 years ago roamed with bands of humans and came in all shapes and sizes https://theconversation.com/dogs-10-000-years-ago-roamed-with-bands-of-humans-and-came-in-all-shapes-and-sizes-269398 #anthropology #pets #science #STEM
anthropology
The family group/tribe is built on mutual support, but the modern conservative version is transactional, based on membership and loyalty. Actions that look like kindness are in reality actions to reinforce tribal loyalty. I think this is why so many people in conservative communties, who are trapped in entirely conservative information spaces, have a hard time breaking free. They see examples of community support as affirmations of their community goodness, and this narrative is drummed into them constantly. Conservative leaders have the advantage of labeling any disruptive people or ideas as 'foreign' and a threat, even if from within the community, so that they never even have to engage with new ideas on merit.
Kindness isnt a relevant trait to their tribal functioning, because the ability to be unkind and cruel to people who arent toeing the tribal line is necessary to upholding 'family law'. Kindness in others undermines their attempts to police peoples behavior (this is why its so important that men are in charge). Therefore, not only is kindness devalued, it is actively persecuted as a threat to conservative values. And that is only treatment of your in-group. If you reject kindness internally, imagine how easy it is to subject an out-group to cruel inhumanity. You can literally justify anything. What is horrifying is the degree to which everyday members of conservative communities have become willfully blind to the terrible treatment of others in order to hang on to an image of community goodness. I have witnessed far too much of this in my life.
Its worth stating that the left has its own, different kind of tribalism. They embrace kindness but there is a lot of pressure to prove the right kind of worth. It has a distinctly multicultural, anti-authoritarian tribalism, where the rules of the tribe are under constant negotiation. This makes communicating a platform challenging. Its a lot simpler for conservative platforms whose rules come from demagogues and an old book.
The flaw of designing a system without compassion is that the cruelty eventually becomes impossible to hide from the tribe, and the cruelty comes for everyone. #uspol #politics #disability #sociology #anthropology #kindness #geopol
#Ethnoprimatology -- #Indigenous knowledge about primates living in their environment
'The region's wildlife includes several primate species—some now at risk of extinction due to deforestation and environmental degradation. Within their traditional memory, the Paiter-Suruí hold extensive knowledge about these animals, which are integral to their cultural heritage. This includes the 10 species of neotropical primates identified and named by the Paiter-Suruí, all native to their territory.'
.
.
'In Paiter-Suruí society, adolescent girls often care for offspring of monkeys hunted by the community, as well as other small animals outside their typical diet. Encouraged by parents, this tradition is a vehicle for socialization and passing down valued skills. By raising young animals, girls develop emotion, empathy, nurturing skills, and hands-on experience seen as foundational for motherhood in Paiter tradition.'
#anthropology #biology #ecology #culture #monkeys
https://phys.org/news/2025-06-ethnoprimatology-traditional-knowledge-indigenous-peoples.html
New free public post on my Patreon! Let's Get Unruly Together: Living into the Legacy of Franz Boas. https://www.patreon.com/posts/lets-get-unruly-159985037
Who is Franz Boas? (The founder of American anthropology, that's who.) What makes him special? (Uh, well he lost his job for being antiracist when eugenics was common sense and Hitler was rising to power, and then he started an entire movement full of outcasts and renegades?) Is he still relevant? (YES.)
Edited 105d ago
And another talk!
Free public post: What's the Deal with Narrative Genre? A Folklorist's Guide to Stories (Part 2). https://www.patreon.com/posts/whats-deal-with-160301254
You've heard us called "Homo sapiens," the wise hominid. Well we're not always wise, but we are always telling stories. In this talk I explore the types of stories we humans use to make sense of the past (history, myth and legend) and how they can each tell us the truth.
It's the second installment of three community talks that I gave in the spring of 2024, diving into how folklore theory can enrich the way we read and make meaning of stories.
#academicChatter #anthropology #folklore #folkloreThursday #folkloreSunday #histodons
‘"Project Hail Mary" demonstrates how intellectual humility can be a guiding force for scientists and astronauts.
From @TheConversationUS: An anthropologist explores the hit film.